2.8 Million Watch 'Mad Men' Season Three Premiere

The season three premiere of Mad Men drew 2.8 million viewers for AMC August 16. That is a 34% boost from the season two premiere. Season two saw its own ratings jump over its freshman run, so the program has been building an audience with each consecutive season.

When repeats at 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. are included, the program reached a cumulative audience of about 4 million people.

AMC is hoping buzz continues to build over the course of the season and pointed out that the season premiere of Mad Men was the top show on Apple’s iTunes store Monday, with season three of Mad Men the top television season.

Mad Men is critical to AMC’s success, as the network once known for classic movies seeks to expand its brand. While Mad Men has been building its audience year over year and garners immense critical acclaim and recognition, it has not been able to bring in the audience that a USA or TNT can.

The 2.8 million viewers is on par for a program on FX such as Rescue Me or Damages, which, like AMC, has a more niche audience than the broadcast alternatives TNT and USA market themselves as.